Unboxing the Office | Episode 14: Mission-Driven Culture and Scaling a Nonprofit with Rikki Harris

In this powerful episode of Unboxing the Office, Bernie Youngblood sits down with Rikki Harris, CEO of TN Voices, to explore what it really takes to scale a mission-driven organization without sacrificing culture, people, or purpose.

Rikki shares the deeply personal journey that led to her mental health advocacy, the leadership lessons that transformed a small nonprofit into a statewide organization, and how focusing on people first can drive growth in ways dashboards never could. From leadership sabbaticals and overcoming fear…to collaboration vs competition…to the future of workplace mental health and innovative treatment approaches, this conversation dives deep into the human side of leadership, and the future of the workplace.

✅ In this episode, they explore:
—Scaling nonprofits through mission-driven growth
—A leadership sabbatical that eliminated fear
—Building a human-centered workplace culture
—Growing through collaboration and partnerships
—The workplace impact of the mental health crisis
—Faith and purpose in executive leadership

Whether you’re a CEO, manager, entrepreneur, or someone passionate about culture and purpose at work, this episode is packed with perspective-shifting insights.

📚 Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Unboxing the Office
02:05 Rikki’s Origin Story & Path to Mental Health
08:20 Scaling TN Voices from Startup Nonprofit to Statewide Organization
13:30 The Leadership Sabbatical That Changed Everything
18:25 Overcoming Fear as a Leader
22:10 The Mental Health Crisis & Loss of Community
28:05 How TN Voices Serves People Across the Lifespan
33:40 Funding, Workforce Challenges & Partnerships with the State
38:50 Aligning Board, Leadership & Mission
42:10 Building Human-Centered Workplace Culture
44:30 Collaboration vs Competition & Win-Win Leadership
46:15 Faith, Purpose & Leadership Decision-Making
48:10 The Power of Perspective — Rikki’s Upcoming Book
51:00 Innovation in Mental Health & Advocacy for New Treatments
53:30 Where to Learn More & Closing Thoughts

👉 Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations about workplace culture, leadership, and the human side of business.

🔗 Learn more about Rikki Harris: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rikki-harris-08a3963/]

🔗 Learn more about TN Voices: [https://tnvoices.org/]

🔗 Learn more about HOTLOGIC®, the AI Oven: [https://hotlogicappliances.com/]

#TNVoices #UnboxingTheOffice #HotLogic #WorkplaceCulture #NonprofitLeadership